Christi Simpson, known as Ms. Simpson to her students, has now been a teacher for 17 years, by chance and by choice. Ms. Simpson is new to Heritage High School, and this is her first year teaching sophomores.
Though this may come as a surprise to her students, Ms. Simpson has three grandchildren, the oldest 11, the middle 10, and the youngest being a nine-month-old. Ms. Simpson’s daughter, their mother, is turning 30 this year.
Ms. Simpson previously had worked as a server and a public school teacher in Dalton. However, Ms. Simpson had not always dreamed of teaching students, she once wanted to be a Nurse Practitioner. She attended Dalton State College with the purpose of becoming one.
At the time, she was aiming for a Bachelor’s related to the job she wanted to pursue but was instead met with a Bachelor’s degree in Early Childhood Education and a Master’s through Georgia Southern University. Ms. Simpson is glad things turned out a bit differently.
Before deciding to teach 10th grade Literature & Composition, Ms. Simpson taught at Dalton Middle School, now named Dalton Junior High School, and at Park Creek Elementary School. She grew up in the Heritage area, and her daughter graduated high school here at Heritage High School in 2014.
Ms. Simpson found herself teaching at Heritage when she was looking at job openings and noticed that Heritage had an English position available. “I jumped at the chance,” Ms. Simpson said. Heritage had always seemed a good school to Simpson and she still believes this.
For first impressions, she was amazed at the students’ sense of responsibility and respect. Ms. Simpson was shocked at how friendly everyone at Heritage was, which is one of the things she liked most about this school. She was mind-blown by the fact that the students are free to roam up and down the stairs to enjoy their lunch, and the fact that they’re responsible enough to keep that opportunity.
Different from her previous jobs, Heritage is different due to the students, the professionalism, and the staff. “I feel like I’m in teacher heaven here,” she said.
Ms. Simpson is excited but also looking forward to simply gaining experience with a new curriculum, a new grade level, and being prepared even more for next year.
